Environmental Discovery Camp Activities
Download these activities with VELS standards
Health and Safety on the Farm and in the Bush (compulsory)
So that visiting students and teachers can operates safely and confidently on Narmbool, students will learn orientation skills and safe procedures in the field. Staff and students participate in short scenarios to learn how to identify risks and how to avoid them, and learn basic first aid principles. Students are instructed in the use of safety whistles and UHF radio communication.
Hiking/walking
Narmbool is a 2000 hectare property with native and introduced flora and fauna, paddocks, sheep, creeks, bushland, grasslands and conservation areas. The best way to experience the property is on foot. Narmbool programs require extensive walking which is often the greatest challenge for students. Students learn how to pace themselves, to manage a healthy water intake, and protect themselves from the elements.
Ecogames
By playing Narmbool’s Ecogames, students will start thinking about the Narmbool environment.
Echidna Trail
Students work together in teams of with an adult in their group to complete the Echidna Trail. The trail is an induction to Narmbool—a practice run on learning how to read the landscape and to look for signs of the biodiversity at Narmbool.
Scats and Tracks
Students identify the types of animals living in an area of Narmbool by examining the scats (poo) and tracks (footprints) they leave behind.
Water Testing
All life depends on water. Students use kits to test the quality of water in important biodiversity areas on Narmbool. Students use nets to catch and identify water insects which are also indicators of how good the water quality is in that area.
Photography/Field sketching
There are many ways to see and record the experience of Narmbool’s diversity and beauty. Students get to learn how to use digital cameras and practise their illustration skills in the field.
Flora Identification
Students learn how to find and identify the variety of plantspecies on Narmbool. Easy-to-use reference materials will help students learn the unique survival characteristics of significant species.
Invertebrate sampling
There is an incredible variety of insects in the ground, on the ground, in the air and on the plants and grasses at Narmbool. Students search for their habitats and collect specimens that will help them learn about the importance of insects in Narmbool’s biodiversity.
Food Web Challenge
Students play a series of games to begin understanding how balance in ecosystem is maintained and why it is important.
GOHK-BAH-LAH NARPAL
Gohk-Bah-Lah Narpal means “take give land” in the language of the traditional Indigenous people of Narmbool, the Wathaurong. This board game has students playing as farm managers who have to plan for the sustainable of the property. The game explores economic, environmental and cultural, and raises student awareness of the puzzles and complexities of land management in Australia.
Indigenous Games
Students have fun playing Indigenous games such as: Marn Grook, Weme, and Gooriand gain an understanding of and respect for Indigenous values and people.
Indigenous Art
Indigenous art is amongst the oldest forms of art in the world. Students will learn the meaning of signs and symbols commonly used by Aboriginal people. Using traditional symbols, students produce an artwork of their own to tell the story of their experience at Narmbool, of their life journeys or of significant occasions in their lives.
Close Contact
Students will participate in a Role-playing activity, where they take on the characters of either of the 2 different Indigenous groups or the Pastoralists. Students will learn, and appreciate the difficulty Indigenous people of this country have endured throughout the time of Colonisation/Invasion.
Seven Dams investigation
The Seven Dams were created by the farm manager in order to slow the effects of erosion on the gully. Students investigate the site to see what lives in it, what they depend on, the connections between living and non-living things and respond to a challenge.
Walking with Eagles Trail
Teams of students and teachers walk the track from Mannas Outstation via the Butterfly run, a favoured habitat for the Wedge-tailed Eagle. Each team has a designated research site next to the track to explore.
Creating Connections
Students are allowed time and given materials in the medium of their choice to respond to their site assessment. Students have access to the Learning Centre resources including, computers, scanners, printers, Sound-House software, craft materials, library and Education Officers.
Exhibition Time
Students book space or time in the Lodge to exhibit what they have created the previous day and night.
Creating Critters
Students use modelling clay and natural materials to create a new species, adapted to suit a specific habitat at Narmbool, to be presented to the rest of the group.
Puppetry Workshop
Students learn how to make their own puppets using simple recycled materials and develop actions for their puppets.
Basic Navigation
Students learn how to use compasses andnavigate safely in a bush environment in preparation for the Great Bush Challenge
The Great Bush Challenge
Small groups of students safely navigate a loop through bush terrain. They collect items of interest in their Wow boxes and later present them to the whole group (The idea is to wow their audience with what they’ve found)
Stargazing (Complete activity subject to weather conditions)
Narmbool’s unpolluted night skies are brilliant for looking at the stars and planets. You’ll be amazed how many things you can see! Using modern telescopes and computers, students can make their own personal star map.